Harry Potter and the End of the Multiverse
by Dali Llama 12
Summary: When Thanos snapped his fingers, he changed the Avengers' world as they knew it, but that wasn't the only world to feel its effects. Only half of the wizarding world remains, and this time, the ledgendary Harry Potter doesn’t know how to win. But when the two worlds meet, the only thing he does know is that he will need the Avengers' help. AU/Endgame reimagined
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! This will become a series of chapters, containing both the the Avengers and HP universes.**

**Rated T for mature/dark themes**

* * *

_The Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, 2019_

Luna Lovegood poked her head out of a bush, wand at the ready. Surrounded by large, waxy leaves, she frowned with concentration, her small, leather-bound book lying open next to her. It was filled to the brim with detailed sketches of various animals. For the past two years, she had been documenting her new discoveries of exotic beasts of the world, composing a manuscript of her travels. Often, her studies led her to remote areas such as this, where these hidden creatures lurked under the radars of both wizard and muggle alike. Now, after months of endless searching, she was finally within reach of the creature she had seen in her dreams.

"_Lumos," _she whispered, illuminating a tiny set of tracks. Sweating, she blew a lock of white hair out of her face and crawled after the tracks.

The paw prints continued on without avail until she reached a small stream. To anyone else, it looked like a normal stream: tiny minnows darted to and fro through the water, while groups of brightly colored frogs hopped about the edge. But Luna was not fooled. She could sense a presence there; a powerful force undetectable by magic. The same force she knew had belonged to the creator of the tracks. Quiet as death, she waited, not daring to cast a spell, not even daring to breathe, or to make any sound. Soon, just as she anticipated, it appeared.

The creature simply blinked into existence, disobeying all laws of magic and physics in the process. It was beautiful, a mix of colors and patterns alike. It looked like-Luna couldn't tell _what _it looked like. The longer she stared at it, the more its appearance changed, as it tailored itself to fit her imagination. The creature stared at her, straight into her soul, it seemed, tilting its head to the side as if it were amused by her.

"_What are you?" _she asked it in the region's native language, though she really didn't expect it to answer. Creatures rarely did. As she anticipated, it simply stared at her, silently repeating the question back.

Suddenly, as if an alarm had gone off, the creature screeched, a sad, piercing sound that made Luna double over, covering her ears. Dazed, she wondered, what had upset the creature who was now blinking in and out of existence, letting out a feral cry. Then, she felt it. A malicious wave of _cold_ that settled over the lifeblood of the forest. It seemed to knock the balance of the universe out, sending it plunging into chaos. Fumbling, she grabbed for her wand. She had to warn the others.

They were all in danger.

* * *

_The Hogwarts Express, same time_

Albus Severus Potter jolted awake to the sound of the trolley lady creaking open the ancient compartment door.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Albus glanced across the compartment, to where to his best friend Scorpius Malfoy lay spread out on the opposite bench, trying to dye his banana-blonde hair black with his wand. Based on the dark splotches across his head, he was not having any success. Albus turned back to the trolley lady and dug out a few Sickles, offering them to her.

"I'll take some toffees."

As the lush, English countryside passed their window in a blur, the duo happily picked apart the desserts. Scorpius finally gave the hair-dying a rest, turning it back to its former color.

"I though Rose might like it," he explained, mouth full of candy, when Albus expressed his disapproval on the matter. Albus rolled his eyes. Ever since they started their sixth year, Scorpius had been trying to woo Rose so he could ask her out to the Snow Ball. First it was his "improved" wardrobe, now this hair dying. Albus had had enough.

"Why are you so obsessed with her, mate?" Albus said. "She hates you!"

"We're just meant to be." Albus snorted at this. "Speaking of which, d'you think my dad will let me stay with you over this holiday?"

"I don't know." Albus picked up another toffee and popped it in his mouth. "I hope so. Aunt Fleur and Uncle Charlie are supposed to be staying with us. Between them and my brother, I don't think I can handle it alone." He shuddered as he recalled last year's holidays, which was devoid of any real fun, as his every waking moment was spent doing forced French lessons with Aunt Fleur or being pranked by his brother, who still favored calling him "Sniveling Slytherin" in front of all of their guests. His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of their compartment door once more. His cousin Rose stuck her head in. Instantly, Scorpius perked up.

"Albus, why haven't you changed into your muggle clothes already?" she reprimanded him. "We're pulling up at the station soon!" Albus sighed.

"Alright, bossy, I'll do it soon," he grumbled. Scorpius held out his bag of toffees to Rose.

"Want a tof-fee? They're good for your liver!" Albus cringed at Scorpius' terrible social skills.

"You are so weird," Rose replied, laughing. Perhaps she didn't hate him so much after all. Scorpius smiled and winked at Albus, earning another eye roll from him.

"So, Rose," Scorpius started. "I was wondering-" He was cut short by a loud scream that echoed down the train. Outside the compartment, his classmates rushed around each other, yelling incomprehensibly. Albus ran to the window, trying to make out what all the commotion was about, but he couldn't see past the wall of kids blocking the window in the door. His ears started to ring loudly. Behind him, Rose collapsed.

"Rose!" Scorpius yelled, panicked. "What's wrong!?" He tried to get her to stand up put she refused to move, turning a sickly white. Albus rushed over, pulling his wand out.

"Don't-feel so...good," Rose whispered. Then, to their horror, she began to dissolve into dust, starting from her feet up. Albus tried muttering a few healing incantations they had learned over the fall, but nothing seemed to work. Within a few seconds, she had faded away. Scorpius stared at the spot she had just been in not a moment ago, mouth hanging open, too shocked to say anything.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Albus yelled, shocked.

"Uh, Albus?" Scorpius said nervously. Albus looked up to see him staring at his hands in terror as they dissolved into dust. "What's happening?" He faded away, quicker than Rose had, but in the same fashion. Albus ran to the door, only to find a similar scene outside of it. His peers watched in shock as their friends dissolved into dust, as if they had never existed at all. The train slowed and came to a stop, the compartment door sliding open. He stumbled out into the hallway in a daze, holding onto the wall for support, and didn't even notice at first when Luna Lovegood apparated right next to him with a _pop!_. Her new tan made it obvious she had been spending time abroad, and her trademark safari jacket was covered in dirt.

"This isn't the ministry," she huffed impatiently in her sing-song voice, raising her wand again, only to notice Albus standing almost two feet away. "Albus?" She saw his devastated expression, and seemed to notice her surroundings for the first time. Her face fell.

"I'm too late," she whispered.

* * *

**Stay tuned for the next chapter!(Crossover coming very soon!)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Upstate New York, Five Years Later_

Tony Stark was beginning to have doubts. Despite being reassured over and over again by both Scott and Banner alike, he couldn't shake the feeling that this might go horribly wrong. For once in his life, he felt like the future was beyond his control, and this worried him. The mission was simple: travel back to places in time where the infinity stones existed and bring them back to the present to carry out their plan. This was easier said than done. One little slip up and time itself could collapse, thwarting any hope of returning the population back to normal. Even if they did manage to accomplish what they set out to do, they had to be able to make it back to the present. Considering that they had few Pym Particle tubes and even fewer Avengers, their chances of success were infinitesimal. With that being said, he powered up his suit, activating the helmet. The others did the same, stepping onto the hexagonal dais that would act as an entry point into the Quantum Realm.

"Let's try not to get killed," Tony told his team solemnly. "The universe depends on it." The remaining Avengers, both honorary and veteran, nodded in agreement. Natasha grabbed Banners' hand, an unusual move for her, as the only time she ever made physical contact with someone was when she was killing them. From what he could see, Banner was just as surprised as he was. This surprise didn't last long, however, as the machine turned to full power. The floor dropped beneath them and they began to free-fall.

* * *

His mind turned to jelly. Minutes, maybe hours passed, he couldn't tell. Finally, like coming out of a dream, he found himself on solid ground once more. All at once, an avalanche of senses bombarded him. The smell of greenery. Crisp air. His fellow Avengers stirring around him.

"Uh, guys?" He heard Scott Lang say nervously. "This isn't New York." With difficulty, Tony opened his eyes. At once he let out a gasp, doing a double take of their surroundings. Before them, like something out of his daughter's princess movies, lay a regal castle, adorned with gilded towers and pristine gates. Under their feet was a long bridge that spanned out over a crystal blue lake. _Beautiful_, he thought, dazed.

"Where the hell are we?" Rocket said, alarmed. He looked over to Scott, who was completely speechless, staring at the castle with his mouth hanging open. "Scott?"

Banner brushed off his suit and adjusted his glasses, squinting at the screen on his muscled arm as he grabbed the brick rail of the bridge for support.

"When we entered the Quantum Realm, it must have transported us to a parallel universe," he reasoned. "That's the trouble with tunneling through it; no matter how much we try to control it, it will always be unpredictable."

Thor braced himself against the brick railing, pulling off his helmet. He looked at the castle with disdain.

"This place looks like Asgard," he said bitterly. "I hate it."

"Something's not right here," Rogers insisted, hefting his shield. He tensed, glancing all around him.

"You tell me!" Rocket snapped. "We're in a different universe! This is all Scott's f-"

Rocket's complaint was cut off by a dozen broomsticks, as they swooped in front of them out of the sky, each carrying a robed man. In the blink of a eye, they deposited on the bridge, surrounding the Avengers on all sides, long, wooden sticks raised at their faces. Rocket jumped back, surprised. Clint lifted his bow, arrow drawn. The leader of them, a middle aged man with large round glasses, shaggy black hair and a lightning scar on his forehead, stepped forward.

"Identify yourselves!" he demanded, pointing the stick at Banners' beastly, green form. No doubt he felt the most threatened by him. "By order of the Ministry!" Before any of the Avengers could stop him, Thor scoffed and raised his axe, pulsing with electricity.

"I don't take orders from anyone!"

"_Stupefy!_" The leader hissed, and a jet of red energy emerged from the tip of his wand, hitting Thor square in the chest and sending him sprawling. Clint let an arrow loose, headed straight for the slender, blonde man at the leader's side, but the blonde waved his stick, soundlessly turning the arrow into a swarm of butterflies. Tony stepped in front of Thor, who was now cursing and groaning on the ground. He had seen that energy once before, used by Doctor Strange back when they were still trying to stop Thanos. Magic.

"We don't want any trouble!" he declared, raising his hands. Maybe he could reason with these people.

"Tell that to your friend over there," the blonde sneered, gesturing with his stick, a wand, towards Thor, who had just begun to stir. "Give us a good reason why we shouldn't kill all of you where you stand!"

"Draco..." The leader said gently, putting an arm on his shoulder. The blonde, Draco, scowled, but backed down. The leader turned his attention to Tony, his expression softening.

"Our apologies," he said. "We've all been a little tense ever since the disappearances." _Disappearances?_ "Do you have your wands on you?" Tony stared back at him blankly. "A wand?"He held out his own. _So that's what the wooden sticks are,_ Tony thought.

"We don't have any," Tony admitted.

"You're muggles." He turned to the other Avengers, puzzled. "How did you make it through the magical barriers?"

"I don't know, but we're not from this Earth. This was all an accident. If you don't mind we'll just be on our way..." Tony stepped back, only to have all the wizards point their wands to him at once.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the leader cautioned. "None of you are going anywhere until you've been brought in for questioning."

* * *

As they were escorted across the bridge, Tony caught Banners' eye and nodded toward his Pym Particle tube, still tucked safely into the side pocket on his suit. Each person had one remaining. If they were quick enough, he thought, they could make it back home before their captors even noticed. Banner, lumbering awkwardly along, gave a slight shake of his head. _Not yet, _his eyes said. Tony obeyed, trusting his judgment. They were brought to a large courtyard at the end of the bridge that looked like it had been around for centuries. Beautiful gardens may have thrived there once, but where there was once greenery there was now only cracked stone and dead plants. It looked to be in a state of neglect. The leader, directly ahead of him, stopped and turned around. Up close, Tony could see that there was something off about him; there were bags under his eyes and he had an unshaven look, like he had stopped taking care of himself a long time ago.

"I'm Harry Potter, Head Auror," he said. The grand doors opened with a flourish, giving them a view to the magnificent hallway inside. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic."

As they made their way down the hallway, Harry greeted various other witches and wizards, who nodded in his direction, continuing along to their destination. Some wrote on what looked like pieces of parchment with old fashioned quills. There were no electric lights, only large torches placed along the walls, burning brightly. Paper airplanes flew above their heads. A young woman, a witch, stood outside a grand hall full with a cart full of newspapers.

"Extra! Extra! Is Granger a danger to the Ministry? Read all about it in the _Daily Prophet!" _

"Holy shit," Rocket said in wonder, staring in bewilderment at the moving paintings on the wall. "This place is unreal." As they passed a painting of a girl in a huge dress, she giggled and waved at Rogers, batting her eyes.

"How is this even possible?" Scott muttered. Harry led on, oblivious to the group's reaction to their surroundings.

"This place used to be a school, the best in the world," he said proudly, gesturing to the grand halls. "Once the disappearances started, we weren't staffed enough to protect a fully functioning ministry. We were forced to shut the school down so we could use it, because it has protective spells built in." As they made their way forward, Natasha sped up and fell into place next to him, her red hair flying behind her.

"Look," she whispered and pointed to the opposite wall ahead. It was covered in thousands of missing posters, of people both old and young. The witches and wizards in the hallway seemed to avoid them like a plague, steering clear of that area as they walked. The pictures waved brightly at them as they passed. Scott waved back.

"Are you seeing this?" Clint said, falling into pace with Tony as well.

"What's with the posters?" Tony asked Harry as they continued along.

"You really aren't from here, are you?" he sighed. "About five years ago, without warning, about half of our population just disappeared. Turned to dust. We all lost family that day. My son-" His voice caught. "My son James and my wife didn't make it." He continued on, voice full of emotion. "At first we thought it was some dark magic, maybe a powerful sorcerer. We've been searching for years, and we've found nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Harry...we know who's responsible."Harry stopped, his coworkers following. He slowly turned to face him. "He's from our universe, this asshole named Thanos. He snapped his fingers and did the same thing to our world. It must have reached yours too." The robed men began to whisper among themselves. Draco spoke up.

"If what you say is true, how do we know you're not working with this Thanos character?" Thor laughed, which made Draco scowl even deeper.

"We're not the bad guys here," Tony reassured him. "We've been trying to fix this as well. That's how we ended up here." Harry considered for a moment, then whispered to Draco, who nodded his head.

"This way," Harry called, leading them towards a grand staircase.

"Where are we going?"

"To see the Minister of Magic, Hermione Granger."


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Hermione Granger sat stoically at her wooden desk in what used to be the Headmaster's Office as she posed for pictures. To the outside, she projected strength and levelheadedness, an image that she wanted to resonate with her fellow wizarding community during these dire times, but on the inside, she was crumbling. It had been more than five years since her daughter Rose disappeared. Many an hour she had spent in seclusion, researching different branches of dark magic, trying to find a lead, despite the Department of Mysteries' constant urges for her to "leave it to the professionals", as they liked to say. She had traveled to various exotic places of the world with Luna Lovegood, trying to find answers in ancient villages whose magic had been around since the dawn of their world, but the girls were met only with disappointment. Many ancient villages were just as confounded as her, eventually turning to religion to explain the events, but Hermione _knew _that there had to be something, _someone_ else behind it. She just wished that more of the wizarding world had faith as well.

A young witch with cat eye glasses spoke up, her bewitched quill writing furiously on a floating piece of parchment.

"Ms. Granger! Any comment on what you think is responsible for the disappearances?" Hermione had been asked this questions dozens of times, to which she always replied,

"The Ministry is working very hard to investigate the disappearances. As of now, we still have no word on the cause." This was met with groans and more camera flashes. "Though I'm sure that if we remain patient, we will find that _someone-" _She was cut off by the reporters.

"Ms. Granger! Is the Ministry trying to cover something up?"

"Perhaps it's a sign from above?"

"What is your comment?"

Hermione was taken aback by the blatant mistrust these reporters showed towards her.

"That's...That's preposterous!" She blurted, flushing with anger. She didn't care _what _terrible articles they wrote about her this time. "Anyone who _reads_ knows that there must be a perfectly logical explanation to all this, given time." More cameras flashed, quills scratching away on parchment. She could already sense that she had overstepped. Her outburst would come back to haunt her soon, perhaps in a new _Daily Prophet _story, "Minister Lashes Out at Press" that would occupy tommorow's front page. No doubt the preying reporters were always looking for ways to make her seem like the bad guy.

To Hermione's relief, the large oak door opened noisily, as her old friend Harry Potter stepped through. At once, like flies, the reporters abandoned her and gravitated towards Harry, frantically talking over each other in an effort to have their questions answered.

"Mr. Potter! What does the Department of Magical Law Enforcment have to comment on the disappearances?"

"Are any of us safe anymore?"

"Mr. Potter! Over here!"

Harry, the calm and resolute leader that he always was, held up his hands for silence.

"No comment. This press conference is over."

Grumbling, the reporters made their way towards the door, where they would be shown out of the building by Aurors. When the last straggler exited the room, Harry closed the door. He looked at Hermione inquisitively.

"Press conference," she said dismissively. "As always, they love to make me look stupid." Harry rolled his eyes. "You look tired, Harry," she observed, noticing his unshaven face and messy hair, which stuck up at different angles. "Have you been staying late?"

"Of course," Harry replied, "The Department's been slammed with cases." He strolled over to the painting of Dumbledore lining the wall behind her. As usual, Dumbldore was asleep on his desk. "Crime's been off the charts. Dark wizards coming out of hiding, wreaking havoc on society. They think that they can get away with it now that there are so few of us left." He turned to her, at once seeming older. "I've never seen anything like it." Hermione felt a pang of regret. She longed to be out in the field helping her friend instead of sitting in her high castle trying to keep back the press.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," she apologized.

"Don't be," Harry reassured. "I just wish-" his voice caught. "I wish Ron was here." Hermione, at the mention of her husband, glanced to the beautifully framed picture of her family sitting on the desk. Ron, holding baby Hugo, waved vigorously, pointing toward the camera, and next to him, Hermione smiled youthfully, her arm around her daughter Rose, both of them the image of each other. They, being residents of the past, had no idea of the troubles to come. Harry, as if coming out of a stupor, shook his head and smiled halfheartedly.

"I almost forgot why I came here," he said. "We just might have found a lead."

"W-What?" She stuttered. What could the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have found that she had not already been pursuing for years?

"We found some muggles on the bridge that claim to have an explanation."

"Muggles?! How did they make it past the barriers?"

"I don't know. But Hermione-" he glanced behind him, as if making sure that the room was completely private. "If what they say is true, this may be bigger than us."

Hermione ignored him. They had worked too hard for too long to give up now.

"Send them in," She ordered apprehensively. Harry frowned, then pointed his wand at the door. It swung open, revealing a heated argument between Draco and...a talking raccoon?

"Come on," the Racoon was saying. "How much for the necklace?"

"This-this is family heirloom, passed down my family for generations!" Draco replied, aghast, his face reddening. "I would never let it fall into filthy muggle hands like yours!" The Raccoon chuckled.

"I'll get that necklace," he murmured. Hermione cleared her throat impatiently. Draco, pouting as he tucked his prided necklace into his robes, gestured for the muggles to enter. They filed into the room haphazardly, stopping frequently to gape at the room's various oddities: the pensive in the corner, the moving paintings of the headmasters on the walls. No doubt the entire castle was a strange experience for them, as she remembered from her first year at Hogwarts after leading a life in the Muggle world. Everything was completely surreal for her at first. The muggles were a mixed bunch, besides the raccoon and a few muggle men, there was a beastly green person who bumped his head painfully on the door as he entered, and a beautiful red haired woman who surveyed the room, her eyes constantly darting to the window, along with a fat blonde man. Harry, seeing as they were comfortable and unlikely to try to run, explained their story; how they claimed that they arrived and why they were there.

"They say that there was a sorcerer in their world-" Harry explained, but was cut off by one of the muggles, a middle aged man with square glasses, who had been previously ogling the pensieve, swirling his hand in it gingerly.

"That's where you're wrong," he interjected, approaching her. She saw Harry tense, gripping his wand at the uninvited gesture, but she shook her head, reassuring him. He let the man, who was oblivious to their silent exchange, continue. The man held out his hand. "Hi, Tony Stark, billionaire, inventor, philanthropist. We're the Avengers, protectors of our planet." She shook his hand cautiously. "This Thanos character, he's no sorcerer, and he's not from Earth either." Draco scoffed.

"Then who is he? A centaur?" He said incredulously. Hermione shot him a glare. Tony Stark continued, ignoring him.

"He's from a planet called Titan. And, about five years ago, he decided that the universe-" He corrected himself."The multiverse, as it seems, needed correction. He believed that there was too much life and it needed balancing. A real piece of work, by the way. He made his way across our universe, collecting these ancient stones to gain power.

Once he collected all of them, he wiped out half of all life. We failed to stop him, but we haven't given up."

The room was silent, as the weight of Stark's words settled. Hermione, who in the past five years, had grown used to listening to crazed witches and wizards who claimed that they could explain the events, would, under different circumstances be reluctant to take these people's word as truth, but her instincts told her that they were not lying. Based on the look of mortification frozen on Harry's face, she could tell that he felt the same. Draco, however was skeptical.

"That's mental!" He said angrily, cutting through the silence of the room. "Do you really expect us to believe that stupid story? We should throw you out of the ministry for lying to us!" The red-haired girl glared daggers at him. "You don't really believe this rubbish, do you?"He said to Hermione.

"I think they're telling the truth," said Hermione thoughtfully, the gears in her head already turning. Tony, looking relieved, slumped into a chair by the old phoenix cage.

"Look, we're not usually ones to look to outside help," he said. "But you guys are powerful. Can't you just wave your wand and bring everyone back?"

"That's not how it works," Harry replied regretfully. "No magic can bring back the dead."

"Unless..." Hermione ventured. She had an inkling of an idea. She remembered something she read, back when they were fighting Voldemort, in an old children's book called **The Tales of Beedle the Bard**. It was no doubt a crazy idea, something that would get them all killed, but what did they have to lose at this point? "What if, instead of trying to use magic to bring back the dead, we bring them back from the dead ourselves?" The room stared at her in bewilderment, as if she had grown another head.

"No offense lady," the talking Raccoon said. "But have you lost your goddamn mind?"

"The Raccoon's right," Harry agreed. "We can't use magic to bring back the dead."

"What if we don't have to use magic?" Hermione said. Then, to Harry, "Do you remember the veil in the old Department of Mysteries?"

"Of course," Harry said, recalling their ill-fated adventure there back in his fifth year at Hogwarts, ending with his godfathers murder. He still found himself having flashbacks about it decades later.

"I've been doing reasearch. I think that it's a portal to the world of the dead, a rip where the two worlds meet. If we can journey there..."

"...Then we can bring them back ourselves, no magic needed," Harry finished. He smiled, the first authentic one she had seen in years. "It's crazy and it's probably going to get us killed. That's why it'll work." He turned to the Avengers. "We can't do this alone."

"Then we'll go with you," Tony stated. It was all Hermione could do to hide her grin. "How are we going to get there?"

"If I'm right," Hermione replied, "The old Ministry should still be there. It's just a matter of breaking in." Harry, who had begun to confer with his fellow Aurors, spoke up.

"We going to have to keep this covert," Harry said. "We can't have the rest of the Ministry weighing us down."

"We'll cover for you," Draco offered.

Hermione called her assistant in, instructing her to cancel all of her upcoming meetings.

"First things first," she said. "We're going to need Luna Lovegood." She grabbed the worn-out quill sitting on her desk, pulling out a piece of parchment from the drawer. With all her materials in place, she began to write an urgent owl.


	4. 4

HI! Sorry for such a long delay, life gets in the way sometimes : (. Anyways, I hope everyone is well. Enjoy this chapter! As always, let me know what you think in the comments! : )

* * *

Luna quite enjoyed America.

Ever since her very first encounter with the Statue of Liberty, she had fallen in love with the city of New York. Its vibrant culture was unmatched in its splendor. Sure it had seen better days, but so had every other place on Earth. It was always teeming with life, bustling with tourists and residents alike who always seemed to be in a hurry. The restaurants and bars were so unique, and each was like its own little world. She vowed to try them all someday.

Currently, Luna was trying to get to work, but it seemed that life had other plans.

"No!" She shouted as the heel on her stilettos broke off with a disheartening crack, sending her tumbling to the pavement and her purse flying. Frustrated and disgusted by the sheer repulsiveness of the gum speckled sidewalk that she was now in such close proximity to, she gathered the sad remains of her shoe and stuffed it into her purse. Naturally, her fellows residents paid her no mind.

"And that's the last time I wear heels in the city," She huffed under her breath. She didn't care what the university dress code was anymore. From now on, she was going with sneakers. Let her muggle colleagues talk all they wanted. If she had to spell another shoe back together, she was going to lose it.

She glanced at her watch, which informed her that she was running thirty minutes late. She made a mad dash for the nearest Starbucks, a viable candidate for spelling her shoe back together. She had found that ever since she had assimilated into the world of muggles four years ago, she dealt with situations like this a lot. Maybe it was the fast-paced nature of the muggle world, or her own ties with the wizard world holding her back, but she found that she often had trouble fitting in with the muggles. Incidents such as these were commonplace to her. She could almost see her coworkers' contemptuous stares when she finally would arrive at work, her blouse and knees smudged with dirt.

After Luna had spelled her wand back together in a cramped Starbucks bathroom (and checked for nargles just to be sure-you never know where they are hiding out...) She made her way to the subway station at the end of the block, passing a hoard of missing signs stapled haphazardly to the cardboard walls enclosing the construction site adjacent to the Starbucks, a phenomenon resulting from what she called the great disappearances. Now, the content of most of the missing posters was muddled, deemed unrecognizable by years of exposure to the elements. Still, they were avoided like a plague by the general public, as it served as a reminder of the reality they were faced with. Many families of the subjects who were featured in the missing posters had given up the illusion of hope a long time ago, when they realized no one could save their loved ones. After all, there were no superheros that could swoop in and magically save the day.

Out of all of the wonders of New York, subways had to have been her favorite. Sure they were foul-smelling, hot, and crowded, but they were the most magical place in the city, quite literally. She would often spot magical creatures milling about the subway tracks, mingling with (and sometimes battling) the ginormous subway rats. Occasionally, had she been spending a late night at the university and found herself in a somewhat deserted platform, she would attempt to communicate with the magical creatures, who, taking after the residents of the city they resided in, paid her no mind whatsoever.

As she made her way onto a stuffy subway, crowded with muggles, her shoes now safely spelled together on her feet, she began to ruminate on her predicament. She had a great job, in a (somewhat) great city teeming with magic and beauty. She was far away from the wizard world, far away from their issues and corruption that had been brought on by the great disappearances. She was perfectly happy where she was. So why did she crave more? She glanced around at her fellow citizens, many of whom looked mildly uncomfortable. They all followed the same routine each day. Get up, get dressed, make the commute to work, and then come home. The subway was the only time they could be alone with their thoughts before the onslaught of media that the city above brought on a daily basis. For many passengers, this short, stuffy subway ride was the only reprise from their hyper-planned day, a brief moment of uncertainty and change. It was too easy for one to get used to this kind of life.

Luna remained lost in deep thought as the subway came to a grinding halt, throwing the most unsteady passengers forward. Her grip, however, remained firm. The doors slid open noisily, with an unpleasant _ding._ She made her way through the humid platform, past the vibrant posters advertising films, and a homeless man sleeping across a row of wooden benches. New York City was full of homeless people. That was one thing the wizarding world lacked, as any witch or wizard without a home could simply use their own knowledge of magic to spell together a place to stay. Muggles however, had no such luxury.

Luna ascended the steep flight of stairs into the garish light of day. Right away, the overpowering smell of hot dogs bombarded her nose. She found herself craving a change of pace. A shortcut through Central Park would do.

Slowly but surely she made her way through the paths of Central Park, past the John Lennon memorial on the sidewalk. She had discovered John Lennon's music purely on accident, having been doing some late night work in a tiny coffee shop when his songs came on over the radio. She was absolutely captivated by their magical sounds, and concluded that he must have been a wizard. Sadly, she was mistaken.

All of a sudden, an owl swooped down from where it had presumably been perched on a tree, blocking her path. This was met with an outcry by the closest pedestrians, and a few phones whipped out to film the phenomena, but a majority of the people around her acted like nothing had happened. Upon closer inspection, she found that the owl was clutching a small piece of paper. For a moment, she was tempted to run the other way, but that would only call more unwanted attention to her. Quickly, she removed the piece of paper from the owl's leg and unfurled it.

_Dearest Luna,_

_I hope that you have found happiness in New York. Is it really as loud as all the books say? I'm aware we left things on bad terms, but I'd like to offer a chance to make it up. We have apprehended a group of oddities who call themselves "superheros". Normally, I wouldn't indulge such childish rubbish but they seem to have some knowledge on what is behind the disappearances. I had the craziest inkling of a plan, and it involves the Deathly Hallows that your father was so keen on. It pains me to admit this, but I'm a bit out of my knowledge here, and feel that you have the best insight into this matter. We need you, Luna._

_Sincerely,_

_Minister of Magic_

_Hermione Granger_

Luna couldn't help but smile as she read the letter. She could tell that Hermione hadn't changed a bit in the past five years since she had seen her. Even though she had left it all behind, a small part of her longed for the wizarding world again, and all of the allure it held. Her initial apprehension turned to excitement as she realized this could be her chance to find a change of pace, and break the never ending cycle of her simple life. If what Hermione had written was true, perhaps there was a chance at a better future!

Fumbling around her purse, Luna pulled out the red ballpoint pen she used to grade papers. The owl remained stationary, aware that it would soon have a message to deliver to its owner. She flipped the letter over to reveal the blank space on the back, and began to scribble furiously. Upon finishing, she tied the letter to the owl using the same ribbon it had come with. She began to speed back the way she came, abandoning all thought of making it to work. She would have to return home immediately to back her few belongings.

The owl, having carried out its duty, took off into the sky, avoiding the gangs of pigeons that swarmed it curiously, flapping their dirty wings. It had a mission to fulfill, and a message to deliver:

_I'm coming._


End file.
